The Little Stark
by Moon Witch '96
Summary: Drabble Series. A curious little mermaid made the mistake of annoying a Sea Witch and a man who was made of nothing but mistakes saved her. Together they make an unlikely family, and show that the world really was changing into something unlikely. Will eventually go through the events of all the Avenger movies. Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

Ariel hadn't wanted this. She had been curious, wondering and interested to see if the Sea Witch Ursula was really as scary and horrible as her father said. So she had snuck away the second her governess had been distracted by the actions of her older sisters. Flounder had followed her, her fellow giggling friend however, had not been happy with her choice of adventure for the day. But nonetheless, here she found herself, trying desperately to get away from the laughing and magic wielding Witch. But, she was only a guppy, and the Witch's powers were too great.

* * *

**AN: So yeah. I own neither the Avengers series or The Little Mermaid. This is juts a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone... I know I'm bizarre.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ursula was a very impatient, and if anything, busy woman. She didn't have time to deal with snooping brats that wanted to see the big bad Witch. She was tired of being the laughing stock of Atlantica, being reduced from a once powerful member of the court to a side show freak for the brats of the merpeople.

So she was going to punish the brat, but something stopped her from adding the little red head to her garden. Somehow, it didn't seem fit. She needed to set an example. The pretty little child with the big eyes was just perfect for that. So she made a plan to drown her. She would later drop her human corpse into the streets of Atlantica, sending a message to the fish folk to stay clear away from her.

But she hadn't even thought, for a second, that the girl hadn't come alone. When the tiny little fish that came out of nowhere went underneath the one of her arms, and began to drag her upwards, and out of sight.

She grimaced. It seemed as if she would have to spend more than a few seconds to deal with the brat.


	3. Chapter 3

Ariel couldn't breathe. She never really thought she would ever be put into a situation like this, as if she was going to burst at the sheer need... She didn't understand what, she needed. But she needed something that wasn't water. She couldn't understand it, but she was reaching, reaching, pumping clumsily things forward in desperate need as flounder tugged her upwards. She need.. She need to reach the surface...


	4. Chapter 4

Tony Stark watched the waves tumble and turn against the rocks with interest, a grin stretching onto his face. He had just discovered a strange grotto from his basement to the bottom of the cliffs of his Malibu house. It opened to the sea, the Pacific tumbling and turning in front of him with nothing but the clear sky stretching out into the horizon. The thirty year old was more than happy with the new discovery. He hadn't really expected to find a such a secret in his new home. He had just purchased the place on a whim, but with such an awesome opening for surfing, he knew he needed to spend more time here.

Taking off his shoes and not really giving a flip about his expensive pants, he slowly waded into the water, the cool and slight sting of the salt-water quickly drenching him as he tested his newly found secret place. It was awesome. He grinned.

But his grin dropped when he caught sight of a small blip of red fighting against the waves.

* * *

**AN: And enter the Marvel. See, it is a crossover!**


	5. Chapter 5

Tony had done a lot of stupid things in his life. He could be a real ass too, he could admit that without any real remorse. But he wasn't a bad guy, really, and without a real thought he found himself struggling desperately to reach the figure barely staying afloat in the water. He wasn't sure if going guns blazing to save a random child(or possible little person) was the smartest thing he should do.

But he sure as hell knew it was the right thing to do.


	6. Chapter 6

It felt as if it took him forever to reach the figure in the water, and when he pulled the small body up and trying to prevent its head from going under, Tony felt something akin to panic enter him. It was a small girl, gasping loud and screaming to high heaven the second she got her breathe.

"Shit! Kid, I got you!"he tried to soothe, eyes wide as he started for the shore. The girl struggled against him for half a second, before she went clutched to him with a strong hold that surprised him.

She clung to him, like some sort of monkey, tight and fierce and trembling so hard that it felt as if it could shake his own frame. He had never known that someone so small could cling as hard as this. And he also hadn't known that the fact that someone counted on him to keep them safe could feel so amazing. Or terrifying.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony made sure to keep her startlingly red head above the water, and when he reached the shore, he was not surprise to see the various beach goers gaping at him as he clutched the small girl to his chest. When he gently laid the girl on a towel offered by a concerned redheaded woman that had nothing on the girl's literally scarlet locks, he stepped back to allow the girl some space. He was very surprised to notice that she was butt naked, and took the offered warp that the other redhead offered. He tied it around the slight girl firmly, taking in her large blue eyes that stared around her with both a curious blankness and sort of horror.

"Is she alright?"asked the redhead, hovering slightly and look at him with wide gray eyes.

"I think so. Just a little shell shocked."he said carefully. The young woman firmly, but gently moved him aside, and kneeled in front of the little girl.

"Honey are you okay? Where are your parents?"asked the woman calmly, gently, her slender hands reaching for the girl. The girl stared at her, as if she couldn't understand her, tilting her head to the side.

"Undskyld mig?*"said the girl, her voice slightly hoarse, but soft and pretty. The young woman stared, and so did Tony.

"Well, shit."said Tony. The girl was foreign, and for once, he didn't understand a word she was saying.

He had a lot of foreign languages under his belt, from Swiz to Japanese, but what ever the hell the girl was speaking wasn't one of them. He turned to the tall, very leggy redhead with a frown.

"You speak gibberish?"

The younger woman simply looked over with a dead panned stare, and turned back to the little girl. Tony himself only sighed.

* * *

**AN: I do not own neither The Little Mermaid or the Avengers characters. All rights go to their respected publishers, producers, and film companies.**

***Excuse me?**

**The language I'm using for Ariel's initial speech is Danish(Anderson was from Denmark). However, it not really what she speaking, she's really speaking Atlantican. But for the sake of not actually writing down random words in gibberish, I chose Danish. She will learn English eventually, but for the sake of the story she can't speak it for now(in place of being mute)... It was one of the things that kinda of bothered me the older I got, was how she could understand what Eric was saying at all if she grew up underwater?**


	8. Chapter 8

"Holy shit is that Tony Stark?!"screamed out a surfer, and Tony rolled his eyes. He was tempted to yell back 'where' but held back for the sake of the traumatized girl in front of him.

She looked around quickly, her eyes darting from side to side like a caged animal. The girl trembled from head to toe, her back ramrod straight.

"Hey Kid, come on, can you at least tell us your name?"he asked the girl, frowning when the girl scowled back.

"Jeg forstår ikke, hvad du siger*."responded the girl, softly, but with a faint hint of irritation lacing her musical tone. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"My name is Tony Stark. Your's?"he asked, gesturing to himself, and then to her. The girl tilted her head to the side, and studied him for a second.

"Mit Navn** Ariel."she said it slowly, dragging out the sounds in a very musical way that was strange as her name. She pointed to herself, and then repeated the name.

He didn't hear a surname, and frowned.

"Where are your parents?"he asked. The girl only stared at him.

"Mr. Stark, this girl can't understand you."said the redhead, frowning. Tony rolled his eyes back.

"I was kinda hoping if I spoke enough English she would magically learn it."

The young woman only rolled her eyes, and Tony started when he felt a slightly cool hand touch his elbow. The little red head looked up at him with frown on her face, and urgently tugged on his still dripping sleeve. She pointed to the sea.

"Jeg har en finde en vej hjem***."she said. Tony only stared.

"What?"

She repeated the sentence, and when it was obvious that he didn't understand her, the girl stood up. She wobbled for a second, before she steadied herself, and repeated the phrase once again, firmly. When he looked at her blankly, the little girl, probably no more than seven or eight, gave him a disappointed look that made him feel vaguely guilty before she took off at a run.

Straight back to the water.

* * *

**AN: *I don't know what you are saying.**

****My name is**

*****I have to go home.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Fuck!"he screamed, scrambling after the child. He didn't really need to worry about her reaching the coming waves though, since the girl fell flat on her face before she even made it ten feet.

She tried to stand again, but she her weirdly long legs seemed unable to support her. She simple fell in the sand, curious on lookers eyes on her's as she stared at the ground in front of her. Tony came up slowly, touching gently on the girl's shoulder. She jumped, and looked at him with those large eyes, the exact color of the sea. He lowered himself to the ground, hands on her shoulder's.

He damn eyes looked back, and he felt himself almost groan at the completely heart broken look on the girl's face.

"Jeg har en finde en vej hjem*."she said again, softly, a whisper so quiet that he struggled to hear it.

"I'm sorry Kid, I can't understand you. But no going into the water."

It was obvious that when she made to stand again, that she was going to head for the water. Tony simply held her shoulder down, and ignored her struggles.

"Lad mig gå**!"she exclaimed. Again, Tony ignored her struggles yet again, and scooped her up into his arms.

"DOES ANYONE KNOW THIS LITTLE GIRL!"He shouted out. No one answered him, and the redhead that had given the girl some decency came running up, all of her things packed up.

She gave him a grim look, before making motions to hold the girl. Tony simply shook his head. Kind or not(not to mention smoking), he was not giving the girl to anyone other than her parents. She frowned, but backed off, and handed him a fluffy blanket seemingly from nowhere.

"I'll help you find her parents."said the redhead firmly, ignoring his look of disbelief.

Tony nodded, warily, and wrapped up the girl. With the strange, tall redhead by his side, and the struggling redhead in his arms, he set out to find the parentals.

* * *

**AN: * I have to go home.**

****Let me go!**


	10. Chapter 10

Ariel stared mournfully into the distance where she could see Flounder looking back at her, and she struggled against the human man's hold in an attempt to get back to her friend, and somehow get home and get her father to reverse the spell on her. The human, Tony Stark(odd name), wouldn't let her go. She felt hot, sticky tears leak down her face, and she helplessly watched as her best friend in the all of the seven seas got smaller and smaller.

"Tell my Father what happened!"she screamed out, and she saw her little friend, just a guppy like herself, nod before he disappeared into the waves. She felt herself sag into the embrace of Tony Stark.

She felt nothing but a sense of emptiness. She had never known that one of her adventures could ever lead to this level of disaster. She sincerely hoped that Flounder swam as if a shark was on his tale.


	11. Chapter 11

It turned out that the beach held no answers in what Tony should do with the girl in his arms. He, along with the redhead, and a couple helpful lifeguards with megaphones, couldn't find the girl's parents. The girl, Ariel, meanwhile, did not say a single word. She did however, looked around her with curiosity, her grip on his drying collar firm and strong. It wasn't until the sun started to set that he knew that whoever the girl's parents were, they were not anywhere at the beach. Or at least, not anymore.

"We have to call the authorities."said a lifeguard, looking on with pity to the girl. Tony looked at the big eyes, that suddenly looked up at him, and had to agree.

"I wonder where you belong , kid."he muttered.

The girl herself only looked to the sea, sadness etched there.


	12. Chapter 12

The police station was not really a place Tony Stark ended up often. Country to popular belief, he was careful of the type of trouble he found himself in. Women trouble, company trouble, hang-over trouble... It was never, even in his drunkest moments, involving anything against the law, or really too stupid (he usually had Rhodey and Happy to bail him out in that case)... Mostly. But, he at least never really had done anything serious. With the kid, Ariel just sitting in his arms as he told his story to the concerned police officer, he knew that this was one of the most serious type of trouble he had ever been in so far.

The leggy redhead next to him seemed inclined to agree, straight forward in her account on what had happened, and not even batting an lash as she helped him not appear as if he had kidnapped a child off the beach. He wondered what her name was, and internally found the fact that she was so cool and collected in a crises. Not an ice queen, but considerate to both him and the kid. The fact that she took in his bullshit babbling was impressive. But not nearly as impressive to her ability to neither respond to his halfhearted flirting with anything more serious than a slight downwards turn to her lips.


	13. Chapter 13

Virginia Potts had long since given up on questioning the fact that Tony Stark, one of the richest men in the country, if not the world, was standing next to her as they explained the little redhead in his arms. She tried to ignore the body guard of said billionaire as he hovered behind them, stone face. Happy, Stark had called him. She found the name to be somewhat ironic.

"Names?"asked the stunned cop behind the counter. As soon as they had finished their story.

The various off duty lifeguards, and other beach goers that had braved cramming into a limo all said their names.

"Tony Stark."

"Virginia Potts."she said primly, ignoring how the policeman behind the counter did a double take. Or the fact that Stark was staring at her so intently.

"Virginia? That's your name? That's a horrible name for a redhead. I'd say you look like a Pepper to me. Much more suited for a redhead."

She eyed the man with a frown on her name. Pepper?

"I don't suppose you feel that her name is Paprika do you?"she asked, gesturing faintly frustrated at the older man. The little redhead stared at her, peering from underneath her massive, shock of crayon red hair.

She had never seen such a vivid shade before, it look almost unreal. It made her own locks look nearly blonde in comparison.

"Paprika? Ooooh, I like that. I naming her Paprika."said the man, looking dead serious as he looked directly at the girl.

"Ariel."said the girl firmly, surprising them as she spoke. It seemed that though the girl had no idea what they were saying, she could get the general gist of it.

The little girl was smart.

"Paprika."countered Tony Stark.

"Ariel."said the girl with a small frown, her lyrical voice floating out and sweet.

"Paprika."

It was then that Virginia Potts thought that her life was really that strange. And it was also then that the social worker came in.


	14. Chapter 14

Tony could see the logic of what the police, and social services were doing. Ariel was going to be placed in state custody until they could find where the girl was from. The Linguist that had been brought in couldn't understand a word the girl had said, further than her name. Still no surname. So with a twinge to his chest, he handed her over the social worker. He had given his statement, and so had the rest. It was time to go home. When he began to walk away, he hadn't expected there to be such a commotion. There were yells, and the little patter of clumsily feet.

Something warm, solid and tiny clutched to his still somewhat damp pant's leg. He looked down to a tearful face, with big water blue eyes that struck a cord inside him. When the social worker came over, ready to pry the girl off his leg, he lifted his hand in a universal stop gesture. She did as he kneeled, reaching over to the girl, placing a his hands on her thin shoulder's.

"Du må ikke forlade."she pleaded. He still didn't understand her, her words, though pretty sounding, were just gibberish to him.

But as she grasped his sleeve tightly in her left fist, her deep eyes boring into his own, a question blurted out of his mouth;

"Can I keep her?"

* * *

**Translation: Please don't leave.**


	15. Chapter 15

The most awkward of silence followed his unsuspected question. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw various degrees of shock on each face. Even the cops had lost their poker faces, though 'Pepper' Potts it seemed, hadn't. The only indicator of her surprise was the way her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Tony could respect that.

"Ex-eeee-ex-cuse me Mr. Stark?" stuttered the social worker, eyes blinking rapidly behind her large glasses.

Tony shifted his gave away from the girl in front of him, scooping her up in his arms again. When Ariel placed her arms around his neck, and squeezed, he knew he couldn't retract his statement now.

"Get my lawyers on the phone. This girl is not staying in a foster home. Until her parents are found, she's staying with me."he said it with his usual confidence.

He knew for damn sure that they would have to pry the girl away from him now. He ignored the sputtering social worker, and went to sit down. Still ignoring the social worker(who seemed to be having a little meltdown), he told Happy to take the beach goers home. He watched them leave, and found himself staring at a certain pair of legs.

"Hey, Potts, you need a job?"he called out, amused when the woman turned to him with a small frown. She nodded though, seemingly on reflex.

He grinned at her.

"Good. Give Happy your address and he'll drive you over to Stark International in the morning so you can start work as my PA. I need another one. They keep breaking on me."

Staring at him for a fraction of second, it seemed as if she seemed to be debating his sanity.

"Goodbye, Ariel."she said, and waved to the girl when she perked up at the sound of her name. She waved back, shyly, hiding in her hair, as she watched the older woman leave.

Tony himself felt no shame as _he_ watched her, and her lovely legs go.


	16. Chapter 16

It took several months of serious lawyering, and a lot of money to get Ariel away from social services and into his custody. He visited her as often as he could, and gave her little things. Stupid things like some books, in hopes that she would learn English, and small little gadgets that she seemed to find fascinating. The former seemed to be a great asset, because slowly, but steadily, the girl could identify and point out several objects in English. She could even ask to go to the bathroom. She was fairly smart, and the time he spent around her, he could tell that she also was insanely curious. A trait that he both admired and encouraged.

By some miracle, the whole process of her adoption was not plastered around the tabloids or the news. Her rescue, via him, however was, and the good publicity, along with the process of him not getting into scandals as of late(he was too busy working in his shop and getting his various homes kid proof), gave his lawyers something to work with. It took him a while, but finally he would get to bring her home.

He didn't know why he wanted to keep Ariel so badly. When asked by Happy, and Miss Potts( The only people who knew of the pending adoption, as he didn't have the guts to tell Obadiah and Rhodey just yet. ), he could not honestly answer. He just knew that he could not let her go away. It was one of the more impulsive things he had ever done, and that was saying a lot. But he also knew it was something he had to do.


	17. Chapter 17

Humans were the strangest things, thought Ariel. She had lived on the surface for a long time, a few moon cycles had come and gone, and here she was still human. But she could not say that she wasn't enjoying herself. There was just... So much to see, and to taste and to feel, and to just simply _learn _about that she felt as if her curiosity was finally being satiated. It wasn't all fun though, the human kids, and most of the adults were not always the kindest or most understanding of creatures when it came to her 'strangeness'.

The children, for the most part, went out of their way to either pester her or exclude her from their human games. Adults on the other hand seem bent out on ignoring her. They were kind, but no more than that. But not all humans were like this. In fact, there were at least three humans that treated her with respect, and even with kindness at a constant rate.

Happy, a stone face man that was like a palace guard, but always gave her a smile, Pepper Potts, a woman that was always talked calmly and soothingly, a smile on her face, and Tony Stark, a wild man that had the brightest eyes that took in everything. But out of those three, the one that stood out the most was the man that called himself Tony Stark.

He was kind, but did not talk down to her in a high voice as most other adults did. No, most of the time he was right next to her as she watched this strange surface world. He helped her explore and explained things with patience, even if she didn't understand a word he said. And he gave her gifts to full her curiosity, teaching her how to make sense of them and to even make them herself when they broke. It was all she could ask for, here, scared, not knowing when she would reach her home again, and feel the cool currents of the ocean around her.


	18. Chapter 18

Unfortunately, neither Happy and Pepper or Tony weren't always around, in fact, they had taken her away from the man pretty soon after he had taken out of the water. She didn't really understand what they said, it was all nonsense really, but from what she could see, she had been sent to a place were there were no parents. Orphans surrounded her. In a sense, she supposed that was what she was now, here on land. Mermaids had no place here, and she had neither the voice or the standing to say otherwise. She was a fish out of water... But she at least had the friends that kept her going in this strange world.


	19. Chapter 19

Tony Stark was never a nervous. Jittery maybe, but nervous no. It wasn't in his nature. But as he signed the final papers of Ariel Doe's custody, he felt nothing but a sense of nervousness craw up his spine. He didn't know if he was really crazy enough to do this... He didn't really know how to be a parent, he hadn't had the best of example growing up after his mother had died... But he did for sure that he didn't want the little girl with the crazy red hair and musical voice to go away.

He allowed the social worker escort him, Happy and Miss. Potts to where he could hear the chorus of various kids both screaming and playing. Ariel was where she also was, sitting quietly in the corner, watching everything with unfiltered fascination. She had long given up trying to play with the other kids when they had excluded her, but she did watch them play as if it was the strangest thing in the universe. Her gaze snapped away from the kids as and met his, and she beamed, brightly and joyfully as she stood up and began making her way to him at a high speed.

"Tony!"she called out, her accented voice echoing out and making all the other kids stare. He felt himself grin at the sound of it, and his nervousness faded away.

"Paprika!"he called out as he scooped her up. She scowled at the nickname that had stuck, her small face looking so put out.

But she still chattered away in her gibberish speak, and hugging him around the neck tightly. Tony felt his grin grow even more. This was right he thought, as the social worker handed Happy Ariel's things, and Pepper the last of her paper work. Utterly right and just so damn perfect.


	20. Chapter 20

Ariel didn't understand when she saw all of the things she had manged to collect in land in Happy's hands. She didn't understand as the children looked up at her in envy and with apathy, or when they waved goodbye. She only understood that Tony was grinning like a loon and that Pepper could seem to stop patting her cheek as Tony carried her away. She finally did understand however, when the caretakers of the orphans came outside with her and her friends, calling out their goodbyes(one of the phrases she had learned in English), and Happy placed her things in the back of the huge carriage like vehicle that Tony called a car.

She was leaving the only place she had known on the surface, beside of course, the beach that Tony had found her in the first place.


	21. Chapter 21

Her first reaction was shock. When she saw the sea, there on the horizon, Ariel felt as if her heart had stopped. There, so near, was her home. She sat straighter in her seat, ignoring the tug of the safety rope across her torso as she peered at the ocean, twisting and turning as it seemed to call her name. When the car pulled up to a large house on top of a cliff towering over the beach that Tony had save her from, she found herself, once again, confused. But when she saw Tony's expecting face, she understood.

This was his home.

He grinned, jerking his head and speaking to her in English. She picked up the word this, and, and the word home from his simple sentence. She nodded, slowly, turning her eyes back on the strange home with straight, firm lines, glass every where, and shinning in the sun. The sea, as far as she could see, was blue and when she stepped out of the car the scent of it made her nearly dizzy with happiness. She allowed her human friends to lead her inside, no matter how much she wished to take a large dive off the side of the cliff. Not only could she not swim well, but Ariel felt a sharp shiver of fear to what awaited her in the depths of the sea.

Dark, sharp cackles of a witch echoed in her ears.


	22. Chapter 22

The inside was just as strange as the outside, with hardly any furniture, bright and glittering. Ariel stared, blinking rapidly at just how beautiful it was. She could see the sea out nearly every window, and the light warmed her skin. If she closed her eyes for a second, she could imagine she was back in the water, with the heat of the sun filtering through the ocean above her, and the gentle thrum of the indoor-wind she felt was the gentle lull of the currents. When she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, Ariel's illusion broke. Warm brown eyes looked at her when she opened her own, bright and with a intense curiosity. She gave Tony a small smile.

"What do you think?"he asked, in 'English' in a simple enough sentence that she understood. She looked around her, blinking at all of the wonderful things that this human's home seemed to have.

She grinned again, and copied a signal she had seen humans give to others in approval. It was a strange gesture that made her jerk her thumb upward, while the rest of her fingers curled into a fist. Tony grinned, returned the gesture, and then grabbed her hand, leading her away with an eagerness that she mostly saw with guppies.


	23. Chapter 23

Tony talked a mile a minute, guiding Ariel eagerly through the house, stopping whenever she stopped to examine anything in particular that seemed fascinating to her. Needless to say, he had to stop often, and the girl would peer at everything as if she had never seen anything quite like it. From the mundane feel of carpet, which she laid on for what seemed like hours, rubbing her face against it as if she had never to the kitchen appliances, which made her head tilt to the side as she felt them out with her small hands. She even began to start to take apart the blender until Pepper had gentle took it away.

Somehow, Tony felt a sort a pride enter him at that. So far, it seemed as if Pepper's reluctance to have Ariel in his bachelor Malibu home was unfounded. That was of course, until they got to the fish tank room.


	24. Chapter 24

Contrary to popular belief, Tony had a good sense of responsibility... When it came to caring for other living beings. He had had too many hamsters and rats to count, and plenty of fish. He was fond of fish. They might not do much, but they gave a sense of tranquility to his usually cocaine-addict like energy. So he had a lot of fish, and he took care of them with little trouble... Or at least, he had regulated the feeding to be automatic, and the filter system was custom built to actually gather water from the ocean and be the least amount of chemically treated as possible. If anything ever broke, JARVIS was sure to tell him.

He had never expect this. The second they had stepped into the room, Ariel had become stiff, going so pale that it looked as if she was about to faint. Then she ran into the room. Underneath the green light of the water, she looked strange. Her skin seemed paler, and her hair glittered in a way that almost seemed to both make it brighter and make it a duller. The fish, usually so zen, seemed to have gone crazy, and every single one of them gathered at the edge of the glass of the floor length tank, pressing against it as if they couldn't get close enough.

Ariel's knees buckled, and she sat crossed legged, seemingly hypnotized, getting as close to the glass as the fish. Her hand, so small, and strange underneath the light from the water, pressed against the glass. Turn be turn, each fish, hundreds of them, touched their snouts against the glass where her hand rested. For the first time in a long time, Tony felt his mouth dropping in shock.


	25. Chapter 25

"Mister Stark, I believe that this is not typical fish behavior."said JARVIS, pleasantly in that dry British voice of his as soon as all the fish had 'touched' Ariel's hand. Tony closed his gaping mouth.

"I kinda got that."he responded, rolling his eyes at the sassy AI. Why he had designed him like that was beyond him.

The fact that he never really had the heart to change his speech patterns was beside the point, he still got on his nerves. Then the next weirdest thing happened. Ariel started to talk, seemingly having got past her initial shock. She talked slowly, softly, pausing her and there, as if she was waiting for a response. It seemed as if she got it, for she would start up again in that strange language of her's. She was smiling. Before, on their tour, he had gotten interesting responses, but never a out-right beaming smile, like the one she had now.

He had actually been afraid that the girl would have been scared of this room, given her recent experience with the water. He had planned to give her a quick glance, and leave. But, from the way Ariel was acting, he had a feeling that she wasn't going to be leaving this room any time soon. So he sat, and waited for the little girl to stop her seeming conversation with his fish.


	26. Chapter 26

"Miss Ariel's language is strange. I do not believe I actually know what it is, but from what I can gather, it seems very similar to very old forms of ancient Danish, and a blend of Latin or Greek. Her vocal patterns are also light and easy, and her range is far greater than the average human. You might not be able to actually detect some of the words she is saying for they are too high and low." said JARVIS, seemingly offhandedly,

"So she'll give a dog fits."asked Tony, ignoring the slap to the shoulder he got via Pepper. He typed into his phone, looking up at the little girl, still talking to the fish.

"Undoubtedly."responded JARVIS.

He gave a lopsided grin.

"Sweet."

"You're taking the fact that the girl you practically adopted is talking to fish and will give a dog fits really too lightly Boss."said Happy, stubbornly standing ram straight against the door frame.

Tony shrugged.

"Have you seen the news lately? Shit going down in New York just the other night, something about the Statue of Liberty giving off some crazy light. The world gets weirder every day, I doubt a girl that can talk to fish is really a stretch."

Pepper stopped in her typing, looking up from her laptop screen.

"Are you sure that's the only thing she can do?"she asked, a worried look on her usually stoic face.

To that, Tony had no answer, and looked worriedly over to the little redhead girl.


	27. Chapter 27

Ariel quite suddenly stood, and rushed over to plop into Tony's lap. She reached over, touched his scraggly cheek with her small hand, and grinned. Her skin reflected the water light even stranger up close, and Tony put in the possibility in his mind that she was a mutant. It would explain, he thought with a jolt, why her parents hadn't been at the beach, or why a girl who clearly couldn't swim be out in the water. Mutants, unfortunately were getting a bad rep, and it was possible that the adorable girl in front of him had become another victim of prejudice.

"Good. Care."she said, her English a little rough, but her voice still sweet. She gestured to the tanks around him with a smile.

She then reached over and gave him a firm, if quick, peck to the cheek. It was then that Tony decided that the girl had most defiantly wiggled her way into his heart. Until a while ago, he hadn't been so sure that he didn't have one at all.


	28. Chapter 28

Virginia 'Pepper' Potts felt as if she was adjusting to the odd turn her life had taken the day she had decided that a lone trip to Malibu was a good idea. It was strange really, she had accepted the PA's job the eccentric billionaire on the basis of two things, one, she had been recently let go and needed something to pay off her monstrous student lones, and the fact that she figured that someone would have to be around the little foreign girl that had so easily had captured Tony Stark's interest to keep her from coming from too much harm in the care of the billionaire. Funnily enough, out of everything, it was his treatment of the little girl that was the least of her worries.

Tony had treated the girl with both respect and surprising consideration. Their antics within the state home for kids had been heartwarming, and had made her feel a little kinder towards the man-child Tony Stark was, and feel a respect to the ever curious Ariel who not only went along with whatever crazy thing he insisted on doing, but being toe-to-toe with the man. Now that she was going to be living with the man however, Pepper as she was so constantly called now, felt that her job was about to get that much more crazier.

As she watched the little redhead smile up at the man that had essentially adopted her, and then slipped out of his lap were she had sat, she couldn't help but feel her own lips twitch on reflex. It wasn't that she wasn't worried about the turn of events concerning Ariel's abilities, and boy, was she worried, but at the same time as she watched the two in front of her, she couldn't help but feel as if everything would be okay.


	29. Chapter 29

Ariel could appreciate many things about humans. Even before this whole mess, they had fascinated her, she had found odd things within the sea from time to time, all made by human hands... She couldn't say that they were all wonderful per say, she had seen the trash and the things that so regularly killed her father's subjects, being eight didn't really make her blind to the entire thing, but she had also seen things that would shine in the sunlight, that would dazzle and delight underneath the the churning mass of water that used to make up her home. She knew her father hated them, and she could see why, and understood his anger. But at the same time, she would see all the wonders these surfaces dwellers could make, feel the crumbled pieces them in her hands and question how people who made such wonderful things could be so horrible.

And now, here, leaving the small little cove filled with so many of her father's people, rave about the excellent care and the attention that a human had bestowed on them, Ariel could find further fault in her daddy's reasoning. Humans weren't all bad, just as all merfolk weren't all good either. She smiled at the human responsible for the happiness of the creatures in the other room. He had cared for them, and from what she heard, made them feel safe.

"Care. Good."she repeated clumsily in the rough language of this part of the world for the surface dwellers. The man, Tony smiled down at her as he lead her out of the room.

Ariel, knew, surly, that it was to the next place of wonders within his home. She couldn't wait.


	30. Chapter 30

When they reached his private lab, and despite Pepper's protesting, Tony let Ariel go crazy in there. She did indeed touch everything to be touched, and even fiddled with a few of his projects, and he laughed as she started to take them apart. She did it with so much focus, and genuine glee that he knew out of all the people he could have fished out of the ocean, the little girl currently taking apart a multimillion dollar, hand built computer hard-drive, was the one he could appreciate the most.


	31. Chapter 31

It didn't take long for Ariel to like Tony Stark's home. In fact, she had loved it the second she had found the room replicating a coral reef, a room in which she managed to sneak in at night and simple pretend to be home, just waiting for Flounder to swim up to her tentatively ask her what was the next adventure they would go to that day. It wasn't long until her bed was moved there, along with her growing collection of human artifacts. A fact that she was very grateful for. She had cried for the first time since on the surface when she had found her bed inside that room.

But, most of Ariel's time was spent with the owner of the house himself, and because of that, she found herself spending a lot of time in what the man called his 'lab'. It was an interesting room, full of wires and gadgets, human technology that left Atlantican look like two pieces of coral tied together with seaweed. It was just so amazing what humans could do, and the little girl couldn't even begin to doubt the fact that everything in this room was ahead of what most humans had outside of the Stark home.

The fact that most of them seemed to be made from the owner of the house just made her that much eager to follow him around, and try to see if she could replicate the things he so easily seemed to be able to do. He seemed to tolerate it enough, somewhat caught up in his own world to notice her too much. But, he didn't scold her from touching things, or tearing them apart(she always aimed for the things with dust or that Tony had tossed aside) and in fact even pointed out things that he wanted her to pick up, and sometimes paused in his manic movements to show her how to do whatever he was doing, or put things back together.

For the first time in a long time, Ariel felt a stir of something. It was relief... Relief of boredom. Relief of finally getting someone to let her explore, while still teaching her, no matter how complex their communication barriers were. It was amazing her, a few days of living with Tony Stark made her less sacred of what was to come, and made her less sacred of this strange, fascinating surface world...

And she couldn't help but feel happy.


	32. Chapter 32

In the days of Ariel Doe(as she was dubbed until her parents were found) living with Tony Stark, he had gained a pretty eager lab assistant. It was strange, but not unwelcomed to find the girl trailing behind him, like a duckling that had imprinted on its mother. She passed him tools with regularity, having learned their names quickly(probably due to the constant repetition), and even used her smaller hands to work on things his hands were too large to work on.

Now, he watched with keen interest, her tiny hands somehow used the tools with some grace, unpracticed, but with merit as she tinkered with a failed robot of his. She had a lot of coordination in her hands, he was surprised to note. Really, the girl was a klutz, constantly tripping and falling over, as if her freakishly long legs weren't used to supporting her weight. But her hands... They were completely in the young girl's control, rare in a kid her age. He smirked at the promise of what that might bring.

His smirk dropped to a gaping mouth of horror the second Ariel found the blow-torch. Somehow, the foreign girl who could barely understand the concept of a light switch just a few months before, turned it on. Pepper's shriek, and Ariel's gasp of surprise and look of fascination did nothing to ease his amused horror as he gently took it out of the girl's hands.

"No more leaving that lying around if she's going to be in here."hissed his secretary, throwing the canister aside with a cool look.

Tony could only nod in agreement.


	33. Chapter 33

"Mr. Stark... Where's Ariel?"asked Pepper. The redhead looked at him expectantly, gray eyes curious.

Tony paused at the question, looking up from his newest project and blinked. He had sworn she was next to him work on this new car engine... He turned to look for his foster child, at the stool that was her usual spot, and frowned as he noted the empty seat.

"Um... JARVIS, where's Ariel?"he asked the room at large, wincing at the cold look his newly hired PA(and somehow still with him) sent him.

"I believe sir that she is somewhere within the ventilation system, though where I can't say, since I have no sensing system within the air ducts. She entered through the lab's west corner when you went to unlock your smelting equipment."came the cool, collected, and somewhat amused sounding AI. Tony sighed.

"Well fuck."

Pepper merely glared at him, before marching to the west area of the lab and wrenching open the large grate. She crouched down, and called out Ariel's name. There was a slight thundering of metal, and then a happy little girl was easily caught in Pepper's arms as she let out a shriek of glee, sliding down the chute most likely... Pepper set the girl on her feet, brushed off the dust she had collected on her little adventure. Tony spent the rest of the day getting stronger screws onto every air duck opening in the house.

Of course, come the next day, Ariel was hanging upside down from one of the air vents, grinning down at him and Pepper, holding out the screws that he had installed proudly in her small hand.

"Again!"she chirped, as if it all had been a game.

Pepper merely groaned as Tony beamed.


	34. Chapter 34

"Pepper! PEPPER! PEPPER!"

Pepper Potts turned to the sound of her boss's voice, sighing as she set aside the company's urgent memos, mostly about getting the bouncing man in front of her to come in to work for once. But, as she eyed his enormous bruises beneath his eyes, and the manic grin he was sporting, she just knew she was neither any of her(_his_) paperwork done or get him to leave the home he had decided to bring Ariel into.

"Yes Mr. Stark?"she asked, ignoring the brief scowl she got from him at her choice in address. She was trying to keep their relationship as professional as possible...

She felt if you gave a man like Tony Stark an inch, he would try to take a mile. She was there to be his PA, not become another notch on his bedpost. Never mind her growing fondness of both the man, his bodyguard, and the girl that was curiously absent... She only hoped she hadn't gotten into the vents again.

"You have to see this." he said, grinning like a school boy.

"I have a l-"before she could finish, he had dragged her all the way to his lab, and punched in the code, were a bewildered Ariel lay waiting. She was sitting on top of her stool, eyes wide and looking confused.

Black Sabbath blared from the speakers.

"Do it again Ariel, do it again!"said the excited man, starting up the song.

Ariel looked at him strangely, as did Pepper, what did this mad man want now, seemed to be what the girl was saying with her look...

"Come on Paprika, do it!"

Ariel tilted her head to the side as the rhythm of Iron-Man got going, and she closed her eyes, swaying slightly from side to side. A smile appear on her lips, and suddenly she opened her mouth. The sound that came out, because it couldn't really be a _voice_, made Pepper's jaw drop. When the song finished, Ariel stopped, looking nervous, and Pepper felt herself beaming along with Tony. She had mimicked the song, her pronunciation a little off at times, and her, accent of her native tongue leaked through... But it had been beautiful, and clearly English. The small girl was smiling suddenly, gesturing to the speakers, and lifting her thumbs up in her clear approval.

"I have the best Paprika"said Tony proudly.

Pepper found herself agreeing.


	35. Chapter 35

Tony spent the next few weeks of his life watching in amazement, and frustration as Ariel tentatively began to learn to read, write, and speak English, from him of all people. Now that he had found the avenue that she clearly took a shine to, Tony found himself stubbornly determined to teach the girl language through music. It started out simple enough, he at first handed her sheets of lyrics, and played the song to her, at the same time reading it out loud to her from his own copy. It took her a few times to understand his intentions, because while she seemed interested in the music, she would ignore him for the sake of going off to examine whatever the next thing caught her interest. It wasn't until he shut off the music and started reading out loud did she look at him and began to repeat his words back.

It was clumsily, and a struggle between the two of them. Tony couldn't say that he felt as if he was the best teacher. He was impatient, and frankly most of the time he wished to ripe the lyric sheets of paper into the tiniest pieces and use it as confetti. But as he watched Ariel slowly start to understand, and look at him eagerly for each sheet, he softened and tried to keep the lessons as varied as possible. He switched back form the lyrics to the alphabet itself, to books and plays, and was fascinated on how Ariel took to it, like a fish to water. She couldn't exactly speak it, not perfectly, but she had made enormous progress now that it was a focus. She actually was better at writing and reading, though she still struggled sometimes with grammar and the spelling.

It helped a lot that the kid under his care was so damn curious, and their little lessons would usually take a few hours a day, before the blended into other things like building pro-types or working on car engines. She was just as energetic as him, more so really, and was right at his heels whenever he got manic.

For the first time in a long time, Tony Stark felt as if he was actually enjoying life. It wasn't just a high to another high, followed by deep pit of depression that made him chase yet another idiotic, self-destructive thing that had caught his attention but simple little things that used to mean shit to him. Now there was that curious little red-head girl that sang like an angel and tripped over anything and everything.

And as she picked up the latest sheet of music, grinning at him with shinning eyes, Tony thought that was okay.


	36. Chapter 36

Ariel was adjusting to life on the surface with such an ease that it worried her. She was just so happy, so stupidly happy that she had never known that things could be this way. Under sea, she was restrained unless she struggled, banned from anything exciting unless she looked at it in secret. But here she could see everything, touch everything while being encouraged.

She liked it. She loved it.

She loved the people here, from Pepper to Happy to Tony, and even the 'AI' voice that made up JARVIS. But she hated herself for it. Out there, beyond the windows of Tony's home her father was beneath the waves, as were her sisters, Flounder, and... Oh she missed them more than her tail. She wanted to sing with her sisters again, she wanted to sit in her father's lap and watch him show her his magic. She wanted to go on her adventures with Flounder and explore her father's kingdom... She wanted to feel the currents of the ocean and see her hair sway with it.

But at the same time, part of her, now, standing on feet of all things, feeling the heat of the sun on her skin, wanted nothing more than to stay here forever.


	37. Chapter 37

"Mr. Stark do you really think this is a good idea?"asked Pepper for the thousandth time.

Tony rolled his eyes, carrying Ariel so she wouldn't trip on the naturally carved staircase from his basement. Pepper was trailing behind them, her ridiculous heals(seriously, this woman was taller than him already, she didn't need to rub it in) clicking against the smooth limestone.

"Do you think I should add a slide in here?"he replied instead. Pepper rolled her eyes at his antics, and glared at his flippant response.

He was currently showing Ariel the small grotto underneath the house. He had two reasons for doing this. One, Paprika seemed to be down lately and one sure way to cheer her up was to show her something new, and she seemed okay enough with water(actually he couldn't get her away from it without a struggle). Two... Well, he lived in Malibu for Pete's sake. He had to go to the beach sometime, and he figured the water there was shallow enough if Ariel braved the waves.

"_Mr. Stark_."

"Pepper."he responded, rolling his eyes.

"Ariel!"pipped Ariel, eyes shinning as if she thought it was a game. He grinned at her.

She tugged on his beard.

"Where?"she asked, eyes still bright.

"You'll see kiddo."

And she did see, and as soon as he reached the sand parts, he let down his ward with a caution, eying her was he saw her toes wiggle in the sand. Then she took off again, a gasp escaping her as she went straight for the water in a way that made him feel a great sense of deja-vu.

He was just happy she had clothes on this time as he swore and dove after her.


	38. Chapter 38

She stopped just a few inches shy of the water. And Tony rocked back on his heals, ready to dive in after her and grateful that he was wearing a ratty MIT shirt. Then she sat down, plopping down on the sand and making Pepper tsk behind him for the sake of the dress she had bought her. He sat down next to her, and saw out of the corner of his eyes Pepper doing the same on her other side.

One tiny foot reached out and touched the water.

It shrank back, and then went forward again. Its twin followed. Ariel trembled next to him, shoulders shaking as he heard her give a shuddering gasp. Her hands reached out and clung to his shirt, and he slipped a arm around her, feeling Pepper's smooth arm do the same bellow him. She didn't sob her heart-out, nah, his little Paprika decided to sing her heart out instead, and tears did run down her face, but they were lost to her song. He didn't understand a damn word sung because she did it in her native tongue.

But he did understand the ugly-gorgeousness of her emotions, a tentative happiness and a sorrow sung out by a child lost.


	39. Chapter 39

When Ariel finished singing, she felt both out of breathe and out of tears. She also felt herself smiling. She looked up and around, ignoring both Pepper's and Tony's faces as she glanced at the large grotto. It was pretty and full of natural sky-lights, and she could feel the mist of ocean on her face and the waves lapping at her toes. The sea and the sky met far off in the horizon, almost like reflections of each other.

It was a wonderful space full of both natural shelves and she knew then and there, that this place would become her's. She had sung both her happiness and sadness and frustration. She had made it her's that way. Nothing said nor protested could change her mind about that...

Ariel's grotto had a nice ring anyway.


	40. Chapter 40

Ariel had the knack of being everywhere _but_ where he thought she was, Tony Stark thought as he watched her. He sure as hell had not expected to see the girl sitting on edge of the balcony that hung over the very sheer cliff of his house over the ocean. Tony nearly had a hard-attack and knelled over dead right then and there by the very act of being so damned spooked. He had only come upstairs to go to bed for once, since he had actually fallen asleep over his latest project. He had thought he had the little red head had passed out hours ago after that long day spent in the cave beneath the house, when he had taken her sleeping form to her tank room.

He thought wrong he supposed, and ran up to snatch the girl off the ledge. But as Tony took in his expression, he found himself pausing. She was just staring, her eyes large as they always were, and somewhat sad. She wasn't crying, but... Her feet swung slightly, tapping her heal against the smooth concrete in a steady rhythm. He didn't say anything. Couldn't really, not when such a small kid looked so damn serious. Instead, forgetting the notions of sleep, Tony crawled up onto the ledge beside her, and gingerly slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Without pause the girl simply leaned her head onto his chest, and he heard her give out a small sigh. Then she began to speak, sometimes in what little English she knew, or in whatever her native tongue was. Even if Tony couldn't understand what was being said to him, he sat quietly and listened. Really listened, to every word and every sound that he could hear.

It wasn't until after he had really put the redhead to bed, and laid down on his own, did he noticed that he had listened more to Ariel in the brief time that he had known her, than his own father had to him in all the time he had been alive.


	41. Chapter 41

King Triton had very little to look forward to in his ancient life. He had his kingdom, plagued by the plights of man and his subjects to help weather through the worst of the atrocities. He had the entirety of the sea within his grasp, the ocean and the skies above to follow his very whim, despite the claims of other smaller monarchs of the sea (Namor that foolish Atlantian,) he was the ruler of all the seas, and over all of the smaller kingdoms that existed within his domain. Yet he had his seven, wonderful daughters, the only real gift left to him by the passing of Athena, there to bring him joy and comfort in the horrible world that had came to be over his long reign.

But all that had changed the second a tiny little Flounder had come to him all those moon cycles ago, terrified and lost.

Now the entire ocean was in a frenzy, searching the coast for just a glimpse of that red hair or a note of her beautiful voice. But after all the months, he could feel his anger growing, hot within him at the thought of his tiniest babe within the hands of those fish eaters, _human _herself, trapped because of that blasted curiosity that she had inherited from her mother. And he could do nothing to reprise the witch responsible, simply, because of her rights of a property. He was a fair merman, temperamental true, but he could not inflict any punishment on her for the sake of his own anger.

No matter how much he wished to.

* * *

**AN: I do not in any shape or form, own neither The Little Mermaid, nor the Avengers. They belong to their respected studio, publishers, and artists. I do however own this little plot-bunny.  
**

**I've been getting a lot of comments on how I should combine the chapters, and while I understand the frustration and or dislike of how I end my chapters(I'm sorry for the cliff-hangers, it's a habit****) I want to say that this is a drabble series. I don't write this all at the same time(with a few binge exceptions like this update) and that the chapters are really supposed to be more loosely connected with each other than they seem. There are clear archs of course, and it is possible when I finish this story I will go back and put back all those chapters together, but for now the style of updating/chapters shall remain the same. Sorry guys =.=.  
**

**Erm, I have a somewhat clear idea where this story is going(straight to the Avengers movie), but it will go through most of the marvel movies first, Hulk (where I might fudge up the details because of the two films), the Iron Mans, maybe some Captain America references, and the movies afterward... Most likely, but we'll see on how the story goes. But this story has no real plan on how it will get to the Avengers goal. This story takes place mostly in the Marvel movie universe, so the Little Mermaid things and plots will be somewhat marginalized for the sake of the Marvel. I will also be making some references to the comics... ****Also, this story is mainly about Tony's and Ariel's relationship and how it will change them both. At this current time, the story is focused on why they will become a family and how they get along.**

**Oh, anyone catch the Statue of Liberty thing in Chapter 26 referring to the first X-men movie? That movie came out in 2000, the current date where the fic is at... Just thought you oughta know, I was scared that came off vague...**

**ANYWAY, thank you all so much for liking this story and reviewing. For those of you who read the Author's note, sorry for rambling... Thank you again.**

**~Peace,**

**Moon Witch**


End file.
